I can only add to the excellent 1634 and 1635 that this is one area where the Orthodox theology is more developed and refined that Catholic. In the West we do not draw this sharp distinction between the religious art and iconography. Perhaps we should, and for sure the Catholics will greatly benefit from a greater awareness of the spiritual treasures of Eastern iconography.
The Catholic tradition is more oriented toward statues, although I notice more and more Catholics write good and quite canonical icons in the timeless Eastern manner.
A part of the Catholic pop culture are so-called "holy cards" that include stories and images of saints. The art element there is usually non-remarkable from the artistic perspective. They are reminders of the life of a particular saint and form a part of that particular devotion.
A crucifix is a necessity in every Catholic house.
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Crucifixion
Zurbaran
1627 I agree very much with your point on iconography. In our little group, we had a presentation of icons and iconography.
I think this goes closely with the western contemplative tradition and it could also be an area to bring East and West closer together.
thanks for your post...